Written by lyricist Kenneth Jones and composer Gerald Stockstill, alumni of the Tony-Honored BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, NAUGHTY/NICE features more than twenty characters singing almost twenty musical numbers. You know these kids — or maybe you were one of them: the boy who dances to his own unique carol, the girl aching to mother a dolly, the lad in the spotlight in the Christmas pageant, the brutally naughty brats who insist they're really nice, the tots whose questions about the season border on the existential, and the needy, greedy and profoundly selfish boys and girls who misunderstand (or don't care about) the true meaning of Christmas.

NAUGHTY/NICE is book-ended by an opening sequence ("Dear Santa"), which introduces the quirky tone and the distinct personality types that will emerge during the show, and a final number ("Part of Me"), in which the now-grown characters (dressed in "adult" urban black) express their wish for a way to finally embrace the season. The final sequence is filled with rueful optimism — and with hope.

The creators view the show as perfect for "downtown" commercial venues or "second stage" spaces at resident theatres, and/or as counter-programming to more traditional fare like A Christmas Carol. Mixing the heart of A Charlie Brown Christmas with the salty postmodern comedy of The Santaland Diaries, Avenue Q and Spelling Bee, NAUGHTY/NICE will be a potent audience-builder, targeting twenty-to-fiftysomething theatregoers. It's also viable as an off-season summer specialty, presented with a "Christmas-in-July" marketing twist.